Wrestling Isn't for Real?

World Wrestling Entertainment
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) admits that it cannot back up its oft-repeated claims that Chairman Vince McMahon is worth $1 billion. Official WWE publicity called that hair-shaving bet in Detroit between wrestlers representing McMahon and Donald J. Trump (which The Donald won, fittingly, on April Fool's Day) the "Battle of the Billionaires." But FORBES has tagged McMahon with that level of valuation just once, in 2000, and he last graced our wealth lists in 2002 at a mere $570 million. While McMahon has done well since, our estimate now: no more than $900 million. A McMahon flack allows that in professional wrestling there is going to be a certain tension caused by "fantasy versus the reality." -- Stephane Fitch and William P. Barrett

Gotta Watch That Overhead

As the liquidating trustee of bankrupt WRT Energy Corp., a firm run by ex-New York City comptroller Harrison J. Goldin spent $17.73 million to collect $17.75 million, leaving only $19,000 for creditors, a new federal civil lawsuit in Louisiana says. Goldin, who left office in 1989 after 16 years, has experience in far larger insolvencies like Adelphia, Enron and Refco. The problem here, says the complaint against Goldin Associates: His lawyers on the 380-plus claims in the bankruptcy worked on an hourly basis plus bonus rather than a fee arrangement tied to results. Goldin, himself not a defendant, had no comment on the lawsuit, which alleges gross negligence and breaches of fiduciary duty. Plaintiff lawyer Brent B. Barriere says bondholders would have done a lot better had the original $3 million seed money for collection been put in the bank--and no attorneys hired. --Carrie Coolidge

Security Clearance for Hannibal

Amid development of pricey military technology, a 225-page U.S. Army field manual covers use of pack animals for training and combat. Passages describe mules ("intelligent," not stubborn), donkeys, horses, llamas, camels and even elephants. The illustrated book, put together at Fort Bragg, includes tables of proper rations for grain, bedding and water; tips for fording streams; and "battle indoctrination" hints. The creatures are "ideally suited" for "high mountain terrain, deserts and dense jungle terrains." The manual is not marked classified, but the first page directs users to "destroy by any method" to stop disclosure. --W.P.B.

Twilight Orezone?

While gold prices have gone up only 6% since mid-January, shares of Ottawa minerals explorer Orezone Resources
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) have risen 61% to a recent $2.05, making for a $270 million market cap (all U.S. dollars). The company hasn't mined or sold any minerals in upward of a decade. Orezone now pokes primarily around Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta), where gold has never been commercially mined. Classifying exploration expenses as an asset has boosted Orezone's book value by 72%. Boss Ronald N. Little says that a buyout rumor is lifting the stock. A fresh Orezone filing concedes that in its chosen line of work "most companies are unsuccessful." --Matthew Rand and W.P.B.

Blame Canada

What alums does your alma mater talk up? The archives reference desk at Montreal's prestigious McGill University has put answers online to two frequent queries. (A) "Did a McGill student accidentally kill Harry Houdini?" ("Misleading," the school declares, while acknowledging a punch by Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead may have led to the magician's 1926 death.) (B) "Did Jack the Ripper attend McGill?" ("Difficult to conclude," the college writes, while conceding McGill-trained doctor Thomas Neill Cream was hanged in London in 1892 for a murder displaying the same eerie M.O. as the legendary killer's.) --W.P.B.